Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-11-16
CRUEL WASTE OF WAR.
LOSSES WHICH OCCUR THROUGH IG-
NoRANcE AND NEGLIGENCE.

NORANCE AND NEGLIGENCE.
wars Three sorts Of Circumstance.-rhe
March. the Camp and the BsttIe-Na-
Poleon's sDednition-Value of the March
ing Power Of ArmiesL
1t is a well known fact that for the first
three years OF the war of the rebellion there
were more lives lost and property DESTROYED
from mere ignorance, and negligence as re-
suit Of ignorance, than from any other cause;
officers of volunteers who had no knowledg
OF military duties had. at the beginning,
large responsibilities thrust upon them. The
object Of all military training should be to
prepare men for war Drill, as a means Of
teaching discipline. Us we'll as preliminary
field movements can be taught anywhere
at home, in the school, the workshop or count
Ing house. But the underlying elements on
| which the art OF war is founded. upon which
.be stability of all government rests, can be
earned only by practical experience And
his is the experience the national guard
wants In time OF war the guard will be-
Nome the regular army, and the volunteers
he reserve The small regular army will be
| only sufficient to furnish high grade COM
manders and instructors for the vast army Of
the people. Now, war is the time for the ap-
piication OF teachings and principles, rather
than the learning of them.
WARS THREE CIRCUMSTANCES. ---
All circumstances of war must be com-
prised under three heads. M the march c,-
the camp, (s, the battle. The frs, and second
heads can he lie ,rne,i in time of p,ace but
only the second is ,ractiosi. The most neces-
sary and imnort, mt of nj, is nsrf,Acf.sf nv, m.
national guard e,oe,s I'm one ar two i'm.
stances, as the march of the Tv.nfv-s.s,,na
New York to PeekskilI. When all the circum-
stances of this march are known il c,nno, Ia.
too highly recommended l, is an examnIe
TO be followed by all the national mari
which viii benefit it to a greater extent than
wears of drill and camp : - -
Napoleou defined the .sart of war; ,n IL, tb. |
"art OF separating to subeist and concen,rat- |
ing to fight and never before or since has |
the great science been $, clearly and tsrsa,y.
enunciated. But this art of serarstinG ami /
concentrating successfully depends upoa the
marching power of armies. Students of the
military profession ponder over questions of
modern arms and arnan,cn,s. tactics drill
and organization, and are apt TO think les
over the greater subject of grand STRATEGY.
which, in one sense, is nothing more nor les
than the ..art of marching or moving armies -
Undoubtedly the railroad and telegraph have
done much to change the phases of modern
war, and the magazine or repeating rife and
powerful cannon have altered the tactics and
order Of hattie, but they have none of them
the fundamental principles which
underlie the grand strategy of war. Gen.
Sherman says: The only change the breech-
loading arms will probably make in the art
and practice of war will be to increase the
amount Of ammunition TO be expended, and
to he carried along: to still further
thin out the lines of attack, and to reduce
battles to short. quick, decisive conflicts. It
does not in the least affect the sran,f strategy
,r the necessity for perfect organization. drill
and discipline
MARCHING POWER OF ARMIES.
Well organized military railway systems
nav affect the first result Of q campaign, and
-ender impracticable certain movements i'm
possible without them. But to that extent |
,aly and no further will they go, and all the
,rand operations of war will depend, as they
,ver have done, on the marching power Of
lrmies Take, for example, the latest wars
wherein troops Of civilized nations have been
,,saged In 1880 Gen Roberts marched
O,OuU men ana eighteen guns from kabul to ,
Handahar, . distance Of so miles The |,
march was made in twenty-three days, over .
he rough roads and mountain passes Of AZ :
.hanistan. he arrived in time to relieve 4.
and defeat Ayoub Khan, and thus
reserve to England a strong natural guard I.
sainst Russian intrigue and force of arms. :
lad he been a day or two later Kandahar
rould have fallen Gen. RVhertS wpuh have !;
cen defeated and the first phask OF the COM
ng struggle between the English bull and :
he Russian bear would have been precipi-
ated In the Franco Prlssian war, if Mac !
Iahon had marched ss rapidly as did the =
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